Calado powers to GP2 pole in Valencia
The Briton's best time of 1:47.342 was set at the halfway point of the session on the soft compound Pirelli tires, on which most of the field started, and everyone’s tires was affected when Giancarlo Serenelli spun at the bridge on the first flying lap, grinding to a halt in the middle of the track and prompting a red flag period as his rivals made their way back to the pits, with most unable to complete a lap.
If there were any questions about the super softs having any life left in them, they were soon answered when Davide Valsecchi set the fastest lap on the red-rimmed tires with which he began the session, but over the next 2 minutes Gutierrez, then Nasr, then Calado pushed the Italian down the order, with the Englishman going five thousandths faster again a few minutes later before returning for fresh boots.
Max Chilton was the first man back on track, wearing super softs for good measure, and though he improved to P6 with a clear track most of his rivals were not so lucky: Calado even managed a spin late in the session as he looked for more time, but managed to stay off the walls and slunk back to the pits as the clock wound down to zero.
Just behind the top three were Valsecchi and Giedo van der Garde (two tenths splitting the top five drivers), ahead of Chilton, Fabio Leimer (who also improved on his second set), Jolyon Palmer, this morning's quickest man Marcus Ericsson and Rio Haryanto, all well within a second of pole. With temperatures set to raise yet further tomorrow, the feature race promises scorching battles up and down the grid.
Valencia – Qualifying Session
Pos |
Driver | Team | Laptime | Laps |
1. | James Calado | Lotus GP | 1:47.342 | 12 |
2. | Felipe Nasr | DAMS | 1:47.349 | 12 |
3. | Esteban Gutierrez | Lotus GP | 1:47.444 | 12 |
4. | Davide Valsecchi | DAMS | 1:47.458 | 13 |
5. | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham Racing | 1:47.543 | 12 |
6. | Max Chilton | Carlin | 1:47.674 | 13 |
7. | Fabio Leimer | Racing Engineering | 1:47.779 | 13 |
8. | Jolyon Palmer | iSport International | 1:47.801 | 13 |
9. | Marcus Ericsson | iSport International | 1:47.972 | 13 |
10. | Rio Haryanto | Carlin | 1:47.996 | 13 |
11. | Luiz Razia | Arden International | 1:48.155 | 11 |
12. | Tom Dillmann | Rapax | 1:48.176 | 12 |
13. | Stefano Coletti | Scuderia Coloni | 1:48.222 | 10 |
14. | Stéphane Richelmi | Trident Racing | 1:48.288 | 13 |
15. | Johnny Cecotto | Barwa Addax Team | 1:48.390 | 9 |
16. | Nathanael Berthon | Racing Engineering | 1:48.518 | 8 |
17. | Simon Trummer | Arden International | 1:48.565 | 12 |
18. | Fabio Onidi | Scuderia Coloni | 1:48.578 | 13 |
19 | Josef Kral | Barwa Addax Team | 1:48.626 | 13 |
20. | Julian Leal | Trident Racing | 1:48.641 | 13 |
21. | Fabrizio Crestani | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:48.846 | 13 |
22. | Rodolfo Gonzalez | Caterham Racing | 1:48.936 | 13 |
23. | Nigel Melker | Ocean Racing Technology | 1:49.021 | 13 |
24. | Victor Guerin | Ocean Racing Technology | 1:49.335 | 12 |
25. | Daniel De Jong | Rapax | 1:49.900 | 12 |
26. | Giancarlo Serenelli | Venezuela GP Lazarus | — | 2 |